Acute Adrenal Insufficiency

Section 5 -MEDICAL

5.22 ACUTE ADRENAL INSUFFICIENCY

Adrenal insufficiency or Addison’s disease is an endocrine disorder that occurs when the adrenal glands do not produce sufficient amounts of cortisol and other glucocorticoid hormones needed to respond to stress and inflammatory reactions and needed to re-establish homeostasis after a stress response.

Early signs and symptoms of patients in acute adrenal crisis include pallor, dizziness, headache, weakness/lethargy, abdominal pain, nausea/vomiting and hypoglycemia. If left untreated, symptoms may progress to hypotension, shock, seizures and eventual heart failure.